Private firms’ help eyed to identify needed labor

The Public School System will tap the assistance of various private and public agencies on the island to identify the needed labor force in hopes to sustain the growing demands of the Commonwealth.

Aside from possible collaborative effort with these businesses, the school system is also looking into the effective implementation of on-the-job training program to help students gain first-hand work experiences.

Acting Associate Commissioner on Secondary Education Rita A. Sablan discussed these probabilities following the recently conducted Vocational Education Training.

During the training, the education system along with the Pacific Resource for Education and Learning made tremendous effort in identifying the possible changes needed to implement in upgrading the Voc-Ed program.

Ms. Sablan explained that there is a need to improve the program in order to produce qualified work force who will occupy hard-to-fill positions in the Commonwealth Health Center and other government and private agencies.

The education system, Ms. Sablan said, is currently revising the Voc-Ed clustered program to redefine and sustain the needs of the labor force.

The associate commissioner said PSS is trying to discover what is marketable right now and what are the needs of the community. This way, the school system will be able to give students several choices on what career path they should pursue.

She said PSS will work closely with the Northern Marianas College’s 2+2 Program to help students gain college credits while completing their senior year.

In addition, these students should be able to cope with the demands of the Commonwealth, undergo training and gain even the entry level positions to prepare their professional careers.

At present, the education system is carefully looking at Tourism and Related Industries; Business and Management; Health and Medical Services; Arts and Communication; Social and Personnel Services; and Engineering Science and Technology.

PSS now offers Automotive Mechanics Technology and Electronics and Communications Technology. Under the Clustered Program of the Applied Technology, Occupational and Management Programs of the VOC-Ed, students will be provided an Initial Mastery Certificate once they completed the course.

Late last year, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio signed into law House Bill 12-285 which extends the privilege of nonresident workers with special skills and qualifications to occupy hard-to-fill positions within the CNMI government.

The law aims to alleviate the critical situation currently facing the Commonwealth Health Center as well as other departments and agencies which rely on nonresident workers for certain hard-to-fill positions.

The governor also urged government agencies and departments to train and aggressively recruit resident workers to fill the needed positions.